Sample paragraph

Below is the sample paragraph that I wrote during class today in response to the following question:

How does Lady Catherine’s reaction to Lizzy and Darcy’s engagement help position the audience to understand the significance of class in their society?

The reaction of Lady Catherine to the engagement of Lizzy and Darcy provides a clear insight for readers into the importance of social class within Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice. Furthermore, it highlights the links between social class and the preoccupation of the novel with the issue of prejudices. Lady Catherine’s comments to Lizzy at this point in the novel do not aim to denigrate the personal characteristics of the story’s protagonist; rather, her thoughts are directly related to her prejudicial feeling towards individuals whose social standing are below her own. When Lady Catherine makes reference to “the particulars of [Lizzy’s] youngest sister’s infamous elopement” (p.338), the audience is positioned to understand that within Lady Catherine’s society, a woman’s social standing is inextricably linked to her morality. Lydia’s involvement with Wickham goes against the embedded values within the novel that consider a woman’s purity as an essential quality. By forcing the audience to reflect on the ways that both Lydia and Wickham have been characterised, Austen is inviting the reader to understand the importance of class within their wider society. Similarly, the imagery that Austen utilises when Lady Catherine berates Lizzy reinforces the ingrained attitudes of various members of this society when their values are threatened. Lady Catherine equates the arrival of Lizzy at Pemberley to the family home being “polluted”, a language choice that allows the reader to create a vivid image in their own minds when comprehending Lady Catherine’s view of the situation. These negative reactions combine to provide a clear illustration to the audience that social class is not only a significant theme within the novel, but also one that has the potential to greatly affect the relationship of the central characters.